3. Introduction
01
Fisheries and aquaculture are important contributors to
global food supply, food security, and livelihoods,
particularly in low-income nations like Bangladesh. In
Bangladesh, the fishery and aquaculture industry,
particularly of shrimp, plays an important economic
and social role providing income, employment and
contributing significantly to food supply.
Government has been very active in stimulating
entrepreneurial growth in the shrimp industry. In 1999,
the Government introduced a licensing system for
setting up shrimp farms projects through Upazila
Shrimp Culture Regulation Committees, which attracted
many outsider investors.
Image source: https://borgenproject.org/imta-shrimp-farms-in-bangladesh/
4. Over recent decades, the shrimp aquaculture project has
experienced rapid growth and has taken a key position in
the economy of Bangladesh, becoming the second largest
export industry after garments. The expansion was driven
by the high profit potential of shrimp farming projects and
attracted a wide range of investors, ranging from
individual farmers converting paddy fields to multinational
companies and corporate business owners investing in
large-scale improved extensive and semi-intensive shrimp
farming; overall, providing a mix of production modes.
Cont’d..
Image source: Joanna Lovatt
5. Cont’d..
Fishery and aquaculture of shrimp now provides a vital
component of the Bangladesh economy, but also has a
number of accompanying environmental and social issues,
that must be addressed in order to provide an improved
and sustainable sector in to the future.
According to DoF, if the available resources are used
sustainably with proper technological assistance, farmed fish
and shrimp would efficiently meet the protein demand of
the growing population in the country, will ensure food and
nutritional security, employment and foreign exchange
earnings, which together could help shape a Bangladesh
free of hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
6. Ecological consequences of
conversion and changes in natural
habitats such as mangroves,
associated with construction of
shrimp ponds and related
infrastructure.
1
Image Source: Peter Barker/Panos
Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPJpPEH3l7o
Major Issues of the Project
7. Discharge of pond effluent leading
to water pollution in farming and
coastal areas. Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPJpPEH3l7o
Image source: Hossain and Hasan, 2017
2
Major Issues of the Project
8. Seepage and discharge of saline
pond water that may cause salinity
changes in ground water and
surrounding agricultural land.
Image source: https://ars.els-cdn.com/content/image/1-s2.0-
S0272771417306492-fx1.jpg
3
Major Issues of the Project
9. Use of fishmeal and fish oil in
shrimp diets.
Image source: https://research.rabobank.com/far/en/sectors/animal-
protein/the-appeal-of-fishmeal.html
4
Major Issues of the Project
10. Improper use of chemicals raising
health and environmental concerns. Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPJpPEH3l7o
Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPJpPEH3l7o
5
Major Issues of the Project
11. Spread of shrimp diseases.
Source: Hossain et al, 2014. Prevalence and distribution of White
Spot Syndrome Virus in cultured shrimp.
6
Major Issues of the Project
12. Biodiversity issues primarily
arising from the collection of
wild shrimp/prawn seed. Image source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPJpPEH3l7o
7
Major Issues of the Project
13. Solutions
03
The effective approaches can be summarized as below:
Introduction, adoption and implementation of codes of practice by the
industry.
Use of environmental impact assessment techniques, both at site-specific
and cumulative levels.
Increasing use of certification to standardize sustainable farming
methods and products.
National management strategies for controlling the import and use of
exotic organisms.
Integration of shrimp farm planning into overall coastal land use zoning
and management.
14. The economic benefits of shrimp farming, particularly foreign exchange earnings and
provision of employment, are highly important to the Bangladesh economy. There is, however, a
need to minimize further its social and environmental costs, which can be achieved in particular
through more effective enforcement of current regulations. It is critical that remaining mangrove
in this area and all other areas across Bangladesh is not damaged as a result of further
expansion of shrimp farming. Indeed, conservation and re-expansion of mangrove should be
encouraged where possible.
Saline water is destructive to freshwater systems in coastal areas and there has been
a large increase in salinity intrusion inland. While the level of salinity has to be maintained in
shrimp farms, to ensure good production, this must be done without affecting additional
agricultural land and freshwater systems and compromising environmental sustainability. Proper
and effective drainage systems need to be introduced to maintain water quality and discharge
effluents from shrimp farms and dyke systems need to be improved to ensure agricultural land is
not salinized further. Saline tolerant rice and other crops need to be introduced in shrimp
cultivation areas to boost these local economies and improve livelihoods further.
Conclusions
04
15. The depletion of floodplain (beel) area has reduced fish stocks and
livestock numbers dramatically, and lack of access across shrimp farms has affected
livelihoods of fishers in particular. Unplanned polders and dams resulted in increased
siltation of canals and rivers and waterlogging of land with salt water require further
research.
Chemicals and pesticide use in aquaculture have substantially been reduced
due to the initiatives of various Government and development partners and by
greater compliance to good aquaculture practices, residues often remain present from
run-off of increased agricultural pesticides which are damaging the aquatic
environment. Measures to control the use of drugs and chemicals have to be adopted
across the spectrum of food production.
Department of Fisheries of the Government of Bangladesh along with other
relevant ministries, International NGOs such as FAO, UNDP and WorldFish and other
NGOs, policy makers and all other stakeholders need to continue to work together to
ensure improvement in quality of production, and equitable distribution of the benefits
of shrimp farming across the community as a whole, which will result in better
standards of living for the majority of the coastal population.
16. Recommendations
05
1. The hatchery sector needs practical research and studies on suitable techniques for
shrimp breeding and rearing of PL up to the pre-growout stage.
2. The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI), research organizations and
universities need to be more closely involved in addressing the research needs of the
industry. Extension of better management practices (BMPs) on selecting and testing for
good PL, PL acclimation, stocking density requirements, and post-stocking monitoring of
growth and survival are required to increase shrimp production in extensive systems.
3. Farmers should be encouraged to incorporate settlement and sedimentation ponds into
the water inlet and outlet, wherever possible. Proper drainage system is obligatory for
good shrimp farming. Farmers should be encouraged to maintain proper inlet, outlet and
drainage systems in their ghers which will reduce the quantity of solids entering river
systems, which causes siltation and blocking.
17. 4. Instead of using chemicals as a means to remove aquatic weed from ponds,
physical removal should be encouraged. In extension materials, it should be clearly
noted that, for weed removal no chemical should be applied in the shrimp ponds.
5. Emphasize shrimp farming based on natural food by optimizing primary
productivity along with the provision of supplementary feed prepared by
environmental friendly feed ingredients to ensure both economic and environmental
sustainability.
6. Institutional reform can also improve enforcement of laws and regulations on PL
and brood stock harvesting, fish preservation, fish feed and hatchery requirement.
7. A number of policy measures are recommended to increase enforcement and to
decrease the environmental and social costs of shrimp farming in Bangladesh.
Recommendations
Many studies indicate that shrimp aquaculture has contributed to the overall degradation of mangroves in Bangladesh’s coast, particularly in southeast coastal areas, where shrimp farm expansion has been responsible for substantial removal of mangrove from the Chakaria Sundarbans
postlarvae
The major recommendation of the LCA study (section 3.14) was to emphasize shrimp farming based on natural food by optimizing primary productivity along with the provision of supplementary feed prepared by environmental friendly feed ingredients to ensure both economic and environmental sustainability In section 4, a number of recommendations have been made that will improve production and the steps necessary to stop the further degradation of coastal ecosystems and the environment.
for example. Enforcement of regulations, and provision of insurance, would increase security of livelihoods for shrimp farmers. Building upon shrimp farmer’s human capital and the creation of alternative activities to improve income would help diversify livelihoods. Both internal and external factors pose obstacles to adaptation and some barriers are reinforced by others. To overcome these barriers, adaptations should be planned in multiple scales. Modernization of shrimp farming techniques and technologies and improvement of overall management at all level of the value chain could reduce risk and improve responses to adverse situation.
A number of policy measures are recommended to increase enforcement and to decrease the environmental and social costs of shrimp farming in Bangladesh. These measures have primarily focused on environmental protection, with some additional measures on biological (species and genetic diversity, quality of different habitats) and social (peoples’ right, food and nutritional security, gender issue and communal harmony) issues. Further measures will need to be undertaken to improve the overall environmental, biological and social sustainability of shrimp aquaculture in Bangladesh. Access to interest free or minimal interest credit through institutional reform could help transform the shrimp farming sector, particularly for the poor or marginal shrimp famers and PL harvesters and traders. This will also prevent maladaptation and diversify livelihood strategies as well as reduce the cost of farming.
